VR46 EXCLUSIVE - “That name? The pressure, we already have it”

VR46 team boss Pablo Nieto says his outfit is not under more pressure to perform following Pramac’s 2024 title win because it represents MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi.

Pramac made history last year when it won the MotoGP world title with Jorge Martin, making it the first satellite team to do so in the modern era.

Forging close ties with Ducati in recent years, Pramac had machine parity with the factory squad as well as full technical support.

That has passed to the VR46 team this year, with Fabio Di Giannantonio’s side of the garage running a works-spec GP25.

VR46 has won grands prix already in its short time on the grid as a Ducati satellite partner, though hasn’t done so since 2023.

Given the support most satellite teams receive now from their factories coupled with Pramac’s title win last year, expectations have been raised for independent squads.

But Nieto doesn’t feel this has passed to the VR46 team, noting that its pressure has been there since its Moto3 days because of its association with nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi.

“No, I think the pressure we have we’ve had since we were in Moto3,” Nieto told Crash.net in an exclusive interview when asked if Pramac’s 2024 campaign had raised expectations for his team.

“We are VR46, so in the end when you are taking care about that name the pressure we already have it.

“So, that’s very important. For us, if you don’t have any pressure, that means that nobody cares about you.

“So, it’s important to get that kind of pressure because it means that a lot of people are caring about us, are watching us, are looking at what we are doing and we are here to have that responsibility to do something important.”

VR46 has enjoyed a solid start to the 2025 campaign, with it third in the teams’ standings after seven rounds having scored five podiums across grands prix and sprints.

Franco Morbidelli is fourth in the rider points, with Fabio Di Giannantonio 10 points adrift in sixth.

Nieto is pleased with what he has seen so far, but believes the team is “missing” something to be a regular podium contender.

“It was not so bad,” he added.

“In the end, we are fourth and sixth in the championship. So, we are happy but always you want more and more.

“That’s normal. In the end, I think we have the best bike that we’ve had in MotoGP.

“We have big support from Ducati, so that’s also very important for us. And we have to work a little bit, not better - because we are working very good.

“But we have to try something a little bit that we are missing to fight for the podium in every race.

“I think we have the potential to do it. I think you have to put everything together.

“Sometimes you are missing some luck or we are making some mistakes, or some crashes. But this is the sport.”